"When I'm out walking, I'll discover a piece of word or iron. The piece is usually peeping from the ground; once it's been unearthed, the shape that appears is often different from the part that was visible. I scrape at it, get a feel for it and put it in my rucksack. The preparatory work starts or continues. I uncover the missing part of the already-started structure or the beginning of a new one. In my workshop, all the materials are stored in a very random way next to objects that are finished (?) and/or in the process of being worked on. From time to time, I sort them into categories, stones, wood, iron, small, big... and I (re)discover them again.

Then... all that's left to do is to put them together, to juxtapose them, to make sure that this stone can nestle in the crevice of that bower of branch, that this length of vine iron wire can uphold that bundle of Catalpa beans. In the carved stump, I attach a small balcony that, with the help of a passage, allows access to the front roof and from there ensures that the cargo of Canadian walnuts is firmly bound."

Jean Branciard

"Conceived from materials loaded with their own history, and recuperated by chance, Jean Branciard's compositions are authentic vehicles of awakened dreams. They invite you to many journeys on different levels, by already embracing the object in its entirety where your imagination will draw its own outlines, or will be absorbed by the countless suggested evocations without being aware of them, by the multiple components which shape it and give it a soul."  »

 Myriam Liaudet, responsible for exhibitions at the MJC (leisure and culture club) of Vieux Lyon